Puzzle.



C. BRUDERLEIN.'

PUZZLE.

APPLIUATION FILED 'JULY 16. 1909.

Patented May 31, 1910.

mnnnnlllmm i W/TNESSES Wwf@ /1 TTOHNE Y S CHARLES BRUDERLEIN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PUZZLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 31, 1910.

Application led July 16, 1909. Serial No. 507,898..v

T o all whom it may concern.'

Be it known that I, CHARLES BRUDERLEIN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York, borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved Puzzle, of which the following is a full, clear` and exact description.

This invention relates to games or puzzles, and the object of the invention is to produce a device of this kind which will afford amusement, and which will call for the exercise of ingenuity and skill in playing the game or solving the puzzle.

More specifically the device comprises an elongated box having an elevated runway along which small balls or shot may be guided from one end to the other. At one end of this runway a plurality of pockets or seats are provided which may receive the halls, and in addition to this special means are provided for returning the balls to the end remote from the pockets, and for bringing them into position for advancing them into the pockets.

The invention consists in the construction and combination of parts to be more fully described hereinafter and particularly set forth in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is a perspective of the device showing the hook for positioning the shot r balls as though removed from the body; Fig. 2 is a plan of the device; Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a cross section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 2, and Fig. 5 is a cross section on the line 1*5 of Fig. 2.

Referring more particularly to the parts, 1 represents the body of the device which is in the form of an elongated box having a transparent cover 2 of glass or similar material. The central portion of the bottom 8 of this box is elevated so as to form a runway 4, and this runway extends on the forward end wall 5 of the box to a point near the rear end wall 6. At the rear end of the runway a back-stop 7 is provided, and just in front of this back-stop I provide a plurality of pockets 8 which may be arranged as shown. Behind and adjacent to the ends of the baclcstop 7 a depression or pit 9 is formed. On the sides of the runway 4, shallow gutters 10 are formed between the edges of the runway, and the side walls. At one side of the box, and at the end remote from the pockets 8, a small pen 12 is formed which may receive a plurality of small balls or shot 13, as indicated. The forward end of this pen is formed by a block 14 which fills the -width of the gutter on this side. The rear end of the pen is formed by a block 15 which has an finclined face 16 disposed toward the block 14. In the end wall 5 0f the box an opening 17is formed through which a small bar or poker 18 is thrust. The rear end of this poker is bent so as to form a handle 19, and the forward end is bent laterally so as to form a finger 20 which is adapted to be employed for pulling the balls rearwardly in the pen 12 so that they will roll up on the inclined face 16. In this way the balls may be taken one by one and brought onto the rear end of the runway 4.

The object of the game is to manipulate the shot or balls so that they will roll one by one toward the back-stop or buffer 7, and so that they may become lodged in the pockets S. The pockets may have dierent number values if desired, so as to increase the element of chance in the game. The game may be played by a single player and then becomes a puzzle. When played by two players the record of the game may be kept on the side of the box, for which purpose the side of the box is provided with a ruled lining 21, as indicated in Fig. 1. The balls may be returned to the pen 12 by inverting the box so that the balls will run out from the pockets and then by suddenly reversing it they will fall down into the pen, as will be readily understood. They can be removed from the pen one by one by means of the poker 18, as described above.

In playing the game the device is supported in the hands and considerable skill is required to bring the balls into the proper position, and skill is also'required for p reventing them from running over the side edges of the runway, in which case 1t would be impossible for them to lodge 1n the pockets.

Opposite the pen 12 a block 22 1s placed 1n the opposite gutter, and the upper edge of this block projects above the upper surface of the runway, as indicated in Flg. 5. This block assists in maintaining the balls as they are drawn from' the pen one by one preparatory to letting them run toward the pockets.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent,

1. A device of the class described, comprising an elongated box having a bottom with a plurality of pockets formed therein, and a pen formed within said box remote from said pockets adapted to receive a plurality of balls and from which the balls may be removed one by one, said pen being adapted to prevent said balls from rolling toward said pockets.

2. A device of the class described, comprising an elongated box having a plurality of pockets formed in the bottom thereof at one end, a pen formed at the other end and adapted to retain a plurality of balls, and means for removing said balls one by one from said pen.

3. A device of the class described, comprising an elongated box having an elevated runway with a gutter at the side thereof, said runway having a plurality of pockets formed near one end thereof, and a ball pen cut Off from said gutter formed within said box remote from said pockets and adapted to retain a plurality of balls which may lodge in said pockets.

4. A device of the class described, comprising an elongated body having an elevated runway with a gutter at the side thereof, said runway having a plurality of pockets at one end thereof, a ball pen formed in said box remote from said pockets and adapted to receive a plurality of balls, means for removing the balls from said ball pen one by one, and a block filling the gutter opposite said pen.

5. A device of the class described, com'- prising an elongated box having an elevated central runway with a gutter at the side thereof, said runway having a plurality of pockets formed therein near one end thereof, a ball pen formed within said box remote from said pockets and adapted to retain a plurality of balls, and a pit formed in the rear end of said box adjacent to said pockets and adapted to retain balls.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES BRUDERLEIN.

Vitnesses z Josnrrr G-UNTHER, LoUisE H. BRUDERLEIN. 

